


Time Waits for No One

by hamstercheese7



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Film Z, Gen, Long Night, Midnight Conversations, One Piece Admirals Week 2020, Philosophy, Sort Of Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26485909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamstercheese7/pseuds/hamstercheese7
Summary: Day 2: Time || Modern AUSometimes, in the darkness of the night, Zephyr wishes Ain had chosen not to follow him.Written for One Piece Admirals Week 2020
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5
Collections: One Piece Admirals Week 2020





	Time Waits for No One

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the prompt Time || Modern AU for One Piece Admirals Week 2020!

The sky overhead was that deep black that sat heavy on your chest in the middle of the night. Dusk far behind and Dawn still so far ahead. The ocean lapped against the sides of the ship, the piddling breeze rustling the black sails that lurked above him. The railing was rough against Ze’s back, the wood of the deck that he sat on was too hard for his old bones. The only light was the millions of stars high overhead, their little pinpricks reflecting just barely off the massive metal monstrosity connected to his shoulder. The weight was heavier than it used to be, his muscles aching under the strain. 

The bottle of Jerez was too warm in his hand, too light too as he brought it to his lips. The light sound of footsteps reached his ears. Steady, careful. Ain. She always walked purposefully, as if she wanted him to be aware of each step. He’d never tell her, but he was grateful for it, the sound was something he could still pick out after decades of deafening cannonfire and the crack of gunpowder. He took another swig, the bite of the alcohol welcome, though he remembered it being harsher. Ze eyed the bottle, the shape discernible, though the glass was too dull for the stars.

He heard her more than saw her sit down beside him, on his good side. “Can’t sleep again Zeph-,” she halted, quickly correcting, “Ze- sensei?” The corner of his mouth ticked up. Ain had adjusted better to his new name than Binz, but sometimes, she fell back into the old pattern, if only for a moment. It was funny, the youngest thing about him was his name. 

She was looking at him as she pulled one knee to her chest, the other stretched out long beside his. A mirror of him. He glanced at the bottle again, maybe he had had more than he thought. ...Or maybe it was the quiet thoughts of an old man in the dark. “Sleep is better saved for the young.” Truth be told, he hardly slept anymore, a natural part of getting older he’d been told. 

The body beginning to give up on tethering itself to the mortal realm. He shifted, the metal of his arm creaking and groaning, like the ache in his shoulder from bearing its weight. He preferred, as he looked up at the stars, remembering a night so very different than this (a night where comets streaked across the sky, his son warm in his lap, eyes huge as he stared at the endless sky above), that instead the soul could no longer stand to be haunted by a lifetime of memories.

He turned to look at Ain, but she was looking up, the stars bouncing off her eyes like sparks. “It’s hard to sleep…” she trailed off for a moment, and though it was dark, he knew she was biting her bottom lip, pulling it tight against her teeth. “When the sky looks like this,” her words floated on the breeze. 

Ze tilted his head back up at the endless dark above them. The sky had lost its luster for him, a thousand nights like these had come and gone, with a thousand different people in a thousand different places. But for Ain, the heavens above were still new. For her, the stars still resembled the eyes of God.

She was so very young. 

And for a moment, Ze regretted that she chose to follow him on his final endeavor. 

They lapsed into silence, the seconds turning to minutes, minutes passing into hours. Slowly, she leaned against his good side, her eyes drifting closed long before the deep black faded to gray, and the gray gave way to predawn shades of periwinkle and blue. 

Ze got to his feet as the ship came to life, the creak of his arm disappearing into the sound of his men, the sails, and the screech of seagulls. Ain looked up at him as he placed his sunglasses back onto his face. 

Her footsteps echoed distinctly as she followed him to the war room as the last of the stars vanished under the fire of the rising sun.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Film Z so much, and Zephyr hurts me so much as a character. Ain too. As I said up top, I wrote this for One Piece Admirals Week 2020 (check out the collection!). Thanks to the awesome folks on the discord server for helping me out with this.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and you can find me on twitter @buggyisbest


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